Do you two remember what you were both wearing the first time you met?

Ian. When I met Elinor for the first time she had a lot of post-student clothes. Horrible stuff like tie-die trousers! Elinor. Ian probably wore the same thing! The second time we met Ian wore a yellow checked shirt because he was going to the show in Llandysul and wanted to look like a farmer!!!

Ian on clothes.

My relationship with clothes is that of a working class - they have to be practical and made to last. My mum always used to say "Buy cheap, buy twice". She also said "You can always tell a man by his shoes". And so, shoes are very important to me and I only buy shoes from one catalogue, Shipton and Hennage.

Ian on his style.

I like traditional things. Some people might say old things, but things I can depend on, things I know that will never go out of fashion, that they are going to be the same now as they will be in twenty years and as they have been for twenty years. I'm quiet conservative that way with my clothes. I believe that clothes are some kind of mask. We wear clothes to hide from the world or to show our self's to the world. I wear my clothes to hide myself; they make me feel that things never change in a world that's ever changing.

Are clothes the only thing you can rely on?

Yes. For example, I have eight or nine shirts that are exactly the same, and I have six pairs of corduroys the same colour. People must think that I wear my trousers for a long time, but I do change and my clothes are all clean, I just have a lot of pairs.

Did you use to wear this Lederhosen as a child?

I wasn't a little fascist or a Nazi supporter! My aunt lived in Düsseldorf in Germany and she used to send them to me. I was very grateful to her for the gifts because they're very special, they last a lifetime. When I wore them to school I got more jib from the other children for being one of the Welshies than being a Cwm Rhondda fascist!

What's the story behind this cardigan?

I have this yellow cardigan which I've had for a long time. There are patches on it, holes everywhere and it shrank when I washed it because the water was too hot. I bought it originally from Oxfam and I wear it because it reminds me my dad's cardigan.

What do you think about fashion?

I must admit that I detest fashion with a passion. I don't understand my wife, for example, I don't understand her concept of buying something only to throw it away at the end of the season or after a couple of months having worn it only once or twice. I don't see clothes as disposable items; they're like second skin to me. Therefore I keep my clothes for years they then just become more comfortable.

If Ian says that he wears clothes to hide from the world, do you wear yours to face the world?

Elinor. Yes, sometimes to some extent. Teenagers in Japan go around wearing crazy clothes, totally nuts, Mickey Mouse hats, knee-high socks, I don't go to that extreme but I will maybe wear a little colourful bracelet or scarf, something small. Often it's not something to draw attention but just something to make me smile. This bracelet, I love it. Fifty pence, that's fifty pence of happiness wrapped around my wrist at this moment. I do it to please myself.

Every time you talk about clothes your face lights and you smile.

I think clothes are fun. They make me laugh. As I give poetry readings I believe that image is a vital part, I present more than just words, I also present myself.

What's the story behind this suit?

Ian bought me this suit from Ireland. I think the tweed appealed to Ian, but what I like most is this fishtail at the back. The skirts quiet plain with pleats at the back. It does look like I'm ready to go riding with the hounds in this suit. But it's a comfortable suit. I think that the fishtail at the back shows that I don't take the suit too seriously, I hope so anyway.

What's the story behind this little colourful dress?

The red, yellow and blue part is a tunic. I used to wear it when I was about four years old, my mum made it for me and she also made a matching one for herself. In the 70's, as a nation I think we had a taste by-pass, we used to have mother and daughter smocks, and that's what it is, a smock. Horrible! But I used to wear the smock with these red boots. So, when you asked me where I got my passion for colour, I think this explains it!

What's Casper's Style?

Casper's quiet different because he has rather good clothes - a lot of which he's inherited from other people wanting to get rid of them. He loves wearing awful things like Spider-man t-shirts and tracksuits. Because all of his friends wears them he wants to wear all the things that we would rather he didn't. His sense of what's cool and what's not is quiet advanced. At four years old he knew what he liked and didn't like. He'll ask if he can wear his favorite clothes down to his underwear - he'll even give me a list! He's created his own identity quiet young, but that's no different to any other children these days.